ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701100004
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: computerbits
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
AND LOCAL CHEFS can check out the Gourmet Association of the Internet for their favorite dishes, listings of featured Virginia companies, and a newsletter of gourmet food suppliers, recipes and contests.
The Virginia Department of Transportation is advertising its construction and maintenance contracts on the World Wide Web.
Companies interested in working for VDOT can visit the agency's site on the Web and click their computer mouse on the section "Doing Business with VDOT."
The section includes project advertisements, information on how to become a prequalified bidder, and the 1997 advertisement and bid-opening schedule.
The site also contains bid-letting results. Temporary results are usually posted the day bids are opened, and updated results are posted within three to five working days.
VDOT said it plans to move additional business information from its electronic bulletin board to the World Wide Web.
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A reader from Blacksburg has sent us e-mail about a Web site for the Gourmet Association of the Internet. The site allows visitors to do keyword searches for their favorite gourmet foods, contains a listing of featured companies, and provides a newsletter of gourmet food suppliers, recipes and contests.
A search for sellers of ham in Virginia turned up six suppliers, most of them (not surprisingly) in Smithfield and the surrounding area. Chateau Morrisette of Meadows of Dan was among the five Virginia wineries that a search for Virginia wines turned up.
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The U.S. Selective Service System is studying the possibility of permitting registration over the World Wide Web. Subscribers to Compuserve already can register on line. All young men must register with the agency within 30 days after they turn 18.
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Computer users looking for commercial software may want to check out the 18-month-old Web site of Online Interactive's atOnce Software. The retailer claims to be the largest download site in the on-line world, operating eight download stores that are licensed to sell more than 1,500 software titles from dozens of well-and lesser-known companies.
The site is organized by software type - business, clip art, education, games, graphics and design, home, Internet resources, kids, screen savers, and utilities - and also provides a search engine to help people find the software they're seeking. A click on the Education category, for example, brought up subcategories for software about geography, grammar and vocabulary, IQ builders, languages, math, science, test generators and tutorials
Once you find a software title you're interested in, you first read the system requirements to see if it will work on your computer system. If you decided to buy it, you hit the download button and, after the file is downloaded, disconnect from the Internet. The file is encrypted and can't be used until you first run it. At this point you are automatically connected with a secure credit card processing network. Once your credit card information is checked out, the program you have selected is automatically installed on your computer.
Unfortunately for Mac users, the software now available is for PCs only. However, the company said it will be offering Mac software as soon as it can provide complete security for the credit card information of Mac users. It expects that to occur in about two months.
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The regular meeting of the Southwest Virginia Internet Society will be Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Hollins Library at 6624 Peters Creek Road. Bob McNamara of MindSpring, the area's newest Internet service provider, will speak.
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